Bureaucracy and state organization capture the attention of academics and students of politics and government. My bonus incentive was I had always dreamt of trekking in the Himalayas.

Right after landing at the Tribhuvan International Airport,
a visitor gets to see that Nepal is a bureaucratic state. Obtaining a visa is a
lot of paperwork. The police officers check your luggage number towards your
ticket issued by the airline before you can leave the airport. This policy is
presumably in place due to historical reasons such as gold/drug trafficking or
smuggling of arms to India. In Inside Nepal (1998), author Prakash A.
Raj explains how 25 diplomatic passports were stolen from the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs and used to smuggle heroin originating from Myanmar to
Australia.

Bureaucracy and state organization capture the
attention of academics and students of politics and government. As for me, I
had always dreamt of trekking in the Himalayas. This time, however, the political dynamics of Nepal
had brought me to Kathmandu. Among the reasons Nepali
politics interested me was the fact that my country (Czech Republic) had gone through a long phase of
communism and the government was overthrown in 1989 during the Velvet
revolution. The revolution that took place in Czechoslovakia is a great example
of a nonviolent and peaceful transition (see The Politics of Nonviolent
Action by Gene Sharp). In contrast, the Nepalis experienced bloodshed while
the regime was changing from a Hindu monarchy to a republic and many people
lost their lives.

In Nepal, the list of political elements to study would be
long. For instance, Nepal had recently experienced emergency laws relating to political
developments as well as natural disasters. Therefore, indulging in the works of Carl Schmitt, Giorgio Agamben and others here in Nepal would be more than intellectually stimulating.. Also, its constitution keeps changing. We should
keep in mind that constitutional changes are always very important for any
state concerned. Take Turkey’s constitutional change proposal as a recent
example. There was a constant discussion in the media and on the streets about
this. I believe that step number one for Nepal is to make people aware of the
power they hold as ‘demos’.

Another element that interests international researchers
and academics is communism, which has always been present in Nepal and was
strongly influenced by Chinese, Soviet and South American ideologies. According
to the sources from Russian Centre of Science and Culture in Kathmandu, many
young Nepalis were granted scholarships to study in the Soviet Union during the
Panchayat period and then worked on translations of Marx and Engels. It can be
said that Lenin’s call for a violent revolution which sourced from Clausewitz's
statement that ‘war is merely the continuation of policy by other means’
influenced the Maoist insurgents. This approach appears quite paradoxical to
the strong Buddhist influence Nepal had received from Tibet and the eyes on the
Boudhanath Stupa overlooking peace in the country and in the world.

An interesting parallel could be drawn from the quality of
life people had under the kings and people have now. Unfortunately, Nepal was a
poor country during the monarchy and remains the same in a secular state. Human
Development Index (HDI) has slightly grown from 2008, however, not much changed
with the coming of the republic. This was undoubtedly affected by the
earthquakes which took place in April 2015 and whose consequences are still
visible in Kathmandu and other areas. The amount of work required by the
government and international NGOs is visible at the first sight. The
infrastructure is underdeveloped and other areas such as healthcare, education
and environment need attention too.

From another angle, having spoken to the locals, I am happy
to have observed that the caste system’s importance is decreasing with younger
generations and that women’s voices are slowly starting to be heard even though
there is still a long way to go. Having arrived in Kathmandu only a few days
ago, I am fascinated by the Nepali culture and people’s positive approach to
life despite all the difficulties they have to face everyday. It is the people
that can change a country and the government should be the facilitator. I wish
Nepal strength for the upcoming years which certainly will be full of
challenges.

Petra Matouskova is from Prague, Czech Republic. Currently
she is pursuing Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Manchester and
presently in Kathmandu.